In the medical field, color images are often used for whole slide images (WSI) in pathology. Further, monochrome images or grayscale are used within the medical field as well. The encoding of grayscale images within the medical field often utilizes the Grayscale Standard Display Function (GSDF) in accordance with the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) Standard which was developed according to the procedures of the DICOM Standards Committee. The GSDF function relates noticeable differences (JND) in luminance to a JND index. While the GSDF is not intended for medical color images, color images may be displayed on standardized grayscale displays.
However, non-medical images are often encoded according to uniform color space, for example the CIE L*a*b* color space designed to match the Munsell Color System, an empirically defined uniform color space. Thus, there could be advantages to a method and a device for encoding monochrome and color images according to a global uniform macro-type color space, while at the same time modifying the image spatially, based on a local uniform micro-type edge characteristic.